Buca Di Beppo Meatballs and Meatball Sauce

Name: Buca Di Beppo Meatballs and Meatball Sauce
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 40 meatballs, 4-6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 1/2 lbs ground beef; 1/2 cup romano cheese, grated; 3/4 cup dry Italian seasoned breadcrumbs; 4 large eggs; 2 teaspoons salt; 1/4 cup fresh garlic, chopped; 6 garlic, gloves sliced thin; 1 large Spanish onion, diced into 1/4 in pieces; 1 celery, chopped; 1 carrot, chopped; 1/4 cup olive oil, plus; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped; 2 (28 ounce) cans plum tomatoes with juice; salt and pepper

Submitted by Polly W

"I loved the cooking classes that they used to have. I hope they start them up again.. This is from their cook-book I bought. Serve with Buca di Beppo Meatball Sauce !!! Yum"

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photo by jupiter10s

Ready In:: 1hr 45mins
Ingredients:: 15
Yields:: 40 meatballs
Serves:: 4-6

ingredients

Meatballs
2 ¹⁄₂ lbs ground beef
¹⁄₂ cup romano cheese, grated
³⁄₄ cup dry Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
¹⁄₄ cup fresh garlic, chopped
Meatball Sauce
6 garlic, gloves sliced thin
1 large Spanish onion, diced into 1/4 in pieces
1 celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil, plus
2 tablespoons olive oil
¹⁄₄ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans plum tomatoes with juice
salt and pepper

directions

Meatballs:
In a large bowl mix all ingredients together.
Shape into meatballs the size of a golf ball ( makes about 40 meatballs).
Set aside and let rest for 1 hour.
Cook the meatballs in the Meatball Sauce :
In a large pan saute in olive oil, garlic,onion,celery and carrot until translucent.
Add parsley.
Break the tomatoes with your hands and add with juice to the pan.
Add salt and pepper.
Bring to boil then lower heat to simmer and add your meatballs.
Simmer for about 45 minutes.
Remove meatballs to platter and serve sauce with your favorite pasta !

Questions & Replies

The sauce recipe has two amounts of olive oil. I assume the 2 tbsps is to saute the veggies and the 1/4 cup gets added to the sauce. However, it doesn't mention it in the instructions.

jbuehrer
What kind of pan should I use for sauce? Should I use a pot for the amount of meatballs/sauce that is actually being yielded?

Jane R.

Reviews

Okay my husband loves Buca's meatballs.. so wanting to give him a nice treat I made these and went exactly as the recipe stated. I thought it was odd that the recipe called for so much garlic but thought folks were saying this was the same as Buca's so just minced them up and added them to the mixture. I can say for sure that these are NOT the Buca meatballs that we get here in Eden Prairie, Mn. I am a garlic lover but my husband ate one helping and when asked how they were he was honest and being nice at the same time said they were just okay. But he was getting kick-back from all the garlic and he never does from the real thing. What I am going to do is go down and order some meatballs to go and come home and dissect them by taste to see if I can copy them.. I will try and keep u all up to date with my findings.

Angela E.
I made just the meatballs (made a different sauce) and they were fantastic. I halved the recipe (it makes a ton) and used parm and pecorino, Italian bread crumbs, roasted garlic, and whisked the eggs (3 eggs for 1-1.5lb of beef) before I poured them in—being sure not to overwork the meatballs. I made 4 giant meatballs, covered them with sauce and cooked them for about 45 minutes in the oven...perfect moist meatballs! Definitely similar to Buca. Highly recommend, super easy, quick, and cheap. Makes great leftovers!

anoukkx
This makes a great pasta sauce, though it wasn't quite the same as the restaurant's. We thought adding a little lemon and parmesan cheese brought it closer (we also used less salt and added fresh parsley over the top). This recipe could easily feed 12 very hungry diners. Thanks for posting this recipe, I really appreciate it!

Maito
They were disgusting! Tasted like liver, and the texture was like patte'!

rademachirvicki
We loved this. Taste exactly like buccas recipe to us. My aunt who eats this meal there quite often said she could not tell the difference. Makes enough to feed a small Army as well. Very well done

aherebia